Car-coupling.



H. T; KRAKAU.

GAB. COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED 11.21. 1913.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

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NORRIS PE I'CRS co UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRYT. KRAKAU,

OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

Application filed April. 21, 1913.

ToaZZ whom it'may'concern Be it known that I, HARRY T. KRAKAU,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, have invented gfnew and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a partial section of a coupler showing my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a section on lines IIII of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail of the lock lifter.

My invention relates to car couplers and is designed to provide means whereby the lock is positively held in locked position, regardless of the shocks and jars to which the coupler is subjected.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates the coupler-head, B the lock and C the lock cavity.

The lock lifter is comprised of a lower member 2 and an upper member 3. The lower member 2 has a link 41 by which it is connected with a hook or eye 5 in the head of the lock The two members are joined together by a loose pivot 6, which allows a limited vertical movement of the upper member 3 relative to the lower member 2. The upper member 3 has an enlargement 7 intermediate its ends, which is adapted to lie within a correspondingly shaped top hole 8 of the lock cavity, and substantially fills this hole (as is shown in Fig. 2), so as to exelude dirt, moisture, etc., which would interfere with the operation of the coupler. The enlargement 7 is shaped so as to slide freely in the hole 8 so that if desired the device may be used with a lock of wedge type. In the upper end of the member 3 is an eye 9 by which the member 3 is engaged with the uncoupling mechanism. The inclined rear face 10 of the member 2 bears against the rear- Wall 11 of the lock cavity when the parts are in locked position, while immediately above the wall 11 is an undercut shoulder or stop 12, against which the cor respondingly inclined upper end 13 of the member 2 will normally strike when pushed upwardly by the creeping of the lock. The surface 13, by its rising into contact with the stop 12, will normally prevent the lock from creeping, but a jar or blow might dislodge the member 2, so that it will clear the stop 12, and the lock would then be free to jump upward and clear the knuckle-tail.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

Serial No. 762,446.

To prevent such accidental dislodgment of the member 2 a shoulder 14 on the lower member 2 is provided, which engages a pro- )ection 15 on the upper member 3. The bearing of the shoulder 14 against the projection 15 makes it impossible for the memher 2 to swing forwardly out of the line of engagement with the stop 12 unless a lifting force is applied to the eye 9 of the mem her 3, the first effect of which is to pull the lower member into a vertical position out of the path of the stop 12. A further lifting will raise the lifter and the lock into position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. It will be seen, therefore, that when the lock is in locked position in the coupler-head and the upper and lower members 2 and 3 of the lock-lifter are in their usual positions (as shown in full lines in Fig. 1), the lower member 2 is in position to engage the stop 12 and cannot be dislodgeo therefrom by a shock or jar, because the engagement of the shoulder 14 and the projection 15 prevents any angular movement of these two members except when the member 3 is actuated from above.

Various changes may be made in the mechanism which I have shown and described herein without departing from my invention, since What I claim is:

1. In a car coupler, a head having a top hole, a vertically movable lock, a lock lifter comprised of two members, one of said members being pivotally connected to the lock and extending upwardly therefrom, the seeone member having a pin and slot connection with the first-named member and extending upwardly through the hole in the head, a stop on the head, a surface on the nrst-named member cooperating with said stop for locking-the-lock, and means for preventing the said surface from being thrown out of the path of the stop when the 100K is in locked position, comprising a bearing on each of the two members.

2. In a car coupler, a coupler-head having a top hole, a vertically movable lock, a locklifting member pivoted to the lock and free to tip rearwardly into locking engagement with the head, a link having a pin and slot connection with the lock-lifting member and extending upwardly through the top hole, and coiiperating bearings on the lock-lifting member and the link to prevent angular movement therebetween when the ports are in locked position.

3. In a car coupler, a coiJ'pler-head having a top hole, a vertically movable look, a lock-lifting member pivoted to the lock and free to tip rearwardly into locking engagement with the head, a linK having a pin and slot connection with the'locK-lifting memher and extending upwardlv through the top Copies of this patent-may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,-

hole, and rnezme'forpreventing the lock 10 lifting memoer from tipning forwardly out of engagement With'the'head, comprising av HARRY E. ORR, CHESTER K. BROOKS.

Washington, D. C. 

